Welcome to this edition of the Educator Mental Health Resources newsletter. This newsletter is created by the BC Schizophrenia Society in partnership with BC Partners for Mental Health and Addictions Information.

For a calendar of support and education events for family members and supporters, please visit www.familyevents.bcss.org

If this email was forwarded to you by someone else, you can sign up for your own copy here. There are also companion newsletters for family members and supporters of persons with a mental illness, and for mental health professionals.

In this newsletter

• HereToHelp School Resource Guide of Evidence-Based Mental Health and Substance Use Information
• Help for family members and supporters of persons with a mental illness
• Looking to find referral or other resources for children and youth in BC?

HereToHelp School Resource Guide

Child and youth mental health and substance use issues are gaining more attention in Canada both because the number of affected youth appears to be growing, and because a large proportion of adult mental health problems actually have their roots in childhood and adolescence. For these and other reasons, school professionals are beginning to take notice of and discuss youth mental health and substance use issues more and more. In this way, school-based activities are becoming an important part of efforts to prevent and address these important health problems in BC and in Canada.

This School Resource Catalogue, presented by the BC Partners for Mental Health and Addictions Information, provides information on BC Partners resources that school professionals can draw upon to both educate and assist students in matters related to mental health and substance use. In our interactions with schools we heard from staff that there is a need for a handy resource of this type to help identify and select high-quality educational resources. Although the resources listed in this Catalogue are directed mainly at youth themselves, they will also be helpful for parents, school staff and others working to respond to youth mental health and substance use issues.

A searchable online database and printable pdf of the guide (20 pages) are linked at http://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/schools/

Help for Family Members and Supporters

Relatives and friends of persons with a mental illness can find help, evidence-based information and services at: www.families.bcss.org or at http://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/skills/supporting-family

To the right you’ll see a listing of family support and education events throughout BC. Other services for family members include the family and supporter version of this e-newsletter resource, available at www.elists.bcss.org and the online support group for family members of persons with a mental illness at www.support.bcss.org

Looking to find referral or other resources for children and youth in BC?

Contact the Kelty Resource Centre. A staff person is available by phone or email to help locate clinical resources and information on mental health and addictions.

Contact HealthLink BC, either on the web at www.healthlinkbc.ca or by phoning 811.

Please phone the Distress Line Network at 310-6789 if you wish to speak to a trained volunteer specialist for support or referrals related to mental health. This is a free call and no area code is needed. This service is available 24 hours a day.